[Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

Welcome to In the Rose Garden! We warned you, and it has come to pass. A forum on Empty Movement for Utena fans. WOW! Please introduce yourself in this thread. I'm not offering a questionnaire, just stand up in front of the class and say whatever you like about yourself!

I'm Giovanna, and I'm one of the webmasters of Empty Movement. I'm the original. The alpha and the omega. The first and probably the last. (Yasha's just a tagalong! ) I handle much of the coding and content construction on the site, where Yasha is in charge of donations. The gallery and the huge Akio shrine are my fault.

I live in Homestead, Florida, and I am working on correcting that. I'm going into nursing, and I'm a science geek. I'm especially fond of space and the stars, and I cry when I see the shuttle launch. Red is my favorite color, and I like to cook. These were all true about me before Akio came along.

As for SKU? I love it. A bunch. Especially Akio. And Saionji. Well to be honest I have a weakness for the male cast. It's not entirely motivated by lust, I swear. I'm also a psychology nerd, which makes SKU an absolute orgy. (Penis towers and flowing water, oh my! )

But enough about me. What about you?

Edit: Duly noted. I'm a bitch.

Last edited by Giovanna (10-16-2006 12:07:11 PM)

Akio, you have nice turns of phrase, but your points aren't clear and you have no textual support. I can't give this a passing grade. ~ Professor Arisa Konno, Eng 1001 (Freshman Literature and Composition)

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

You forgot to mention that you're a bitch.

Edit: Damn right.

Edit 2: I don't want to introduce myself. I feel like a fool doing that. Isn't it kind of artificial to expect that because I've introduced myself everyone else and me are now friends or know each other or something? Not to say that I don't want to get to know anyone, but I'm having a philosophical crisis here over the idea that summing myself or anyone else up in a few words is going to be a sufficient basis for anything. It's like climbing a rock wall in a gym over and over until you've climbed the height of Everest-- I mean, you did it, but you don't have the experience of the real thing. You can't go around saying you climbed Everest, everyone would look at you funny. So does an introduction actually count as knowing someone? Or does it just count as being familiar with them, the way you become familiar with a guy that comes into your favorite coffeeshop at the same time every Thursday and orders the same thing?

I think it's more along the lines of the latter. I guess that's not a bad thing...

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

Finally, I'm here! *cough* *cough*

I'm Sey(aka Seymour Omega), and I'm an italian fan of SKU.I live in a small city called San Cataldo, in the center of Sicily. I like reading, especially Romantic poetry and historical novels(I like a lot the Dumas's one). But I like also Anime and Manga, in fact I'm a perfect Otaku. I'm a movie critic

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

Yasha wrote:

blah blah blah blah blah blah

Yasha's being an ivory tower upnose pretentious snob, so I'll write her introduction.

She's a lot like Touga.

Akio, you have nice turns of phrase, but your points aren't clear and you have no textual support. I can't give this a passing grade. ~ Professor Arisa Konno, Eng 1001 (Freshman Literature and Composition)

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

I found my way here through the roselinedcoffin community on LiveJournal (this would be my LJ, if you're curious).

I'm 21 years old and a poor college student currently living in southern Indiana, although California is and will always be my home.

I dork about anime and manga and video games and roleplaying. Yes, of both the online (i.e. over LJ or play-by-post) and offline (i.e. tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons and Vampire: The Masquerade, just to give two examples) varieties.

As far as SKU goes, I like everybody. My favorite character, if you're going to make me pick one, would be Juri.

In parting, I give you a dancing smiley:

One does not simply walk into Wal-Mart. There is evil there that does not sleep.

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

Hey!

I'm Fluffy, and I'm a teenage girl who loves SKU...wait a moment, that was a little generic, wasn't it? I have only just watched (well, re-watched, but only a few weeks after watching ) the series, and there was a lot of laughing, a lot of nail-biting and a lot of crying. It's not only the best anime I've ever seen, but probably the best series of anything, full stop. And for someone who loves over-analysis, it's kind of like heaven...

Favourite characters are the Utena (I am sure you're completely unsurprised), Anthy in all her devious glory, Juri, Nanami, Miki, Wakaba, Chu-Chu, and the frog. I confess to an utter, genuine, non-Freudian, non-phobia-based lack of sexual attraction to Akio, and thusly promise to donate my brain to science. Sorry everybody!

I watched and liked the film, which is also, probably, terrible. But the Utena-car won me over completely. Also the sheer insanity of the official art it generated. Well, some of it anyway.

I dabble in fanfiction, and the world may find me cosplaying Juri sometime next year, which is not really something the world wants to find, and probably on the level of fun of cleaning the upholstery on the Akio-car. This is on the basis on hair, build, and how pretty her costume is rather than any personality resemblance to her. I'm fluffy! And approachable! And I overuse exclamation makrs and want to be everyone's friend, and, you know, am probably going to fall down a suspiciously roseate elevator shaft in 1.5 seconds for the hubris of that statement.

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

And representing Canadia...

I'm a mildly published writer working in a gas station in Vacouver, British California. Goals include getting out of the gas station before getting shot or having one of the various people that feels to need to smoke while pumping gas blowing up the station while I'm at work; they don't pay me enough to get blown up.

Utena is magic and has obsessed me for years, but only the series. The movie plays with theme and story too much and not enough with character and the manga is kinda trite, but all the underlying psychosis driving the series fills me with happy. The juxtoposition of bright pretty colors with all the dark going on in the show keeps me coming back and picking the thing apart. I love pretty much all the characters and cherish them for what they are, and will die quite happy if I don't meet any more people that remind me of them than I already know. Favorites include Utena, Akio, Juri, Wakaba, Shiori, Anthy, Mikage, and Nanami. The twins scare me.

So, um, yeah. Pleased to meet you all and such. I'll try to remember I'm a member here, and will happily complete the tradition of closing with the dancing emoticon.

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

Hiya! I'm Clarice, and I'm an alcoholic. How I ended up in this forum I'll never know, but apparently it's going to be as cracked as any three-day drinking binge during Oktoberfest, so what the hey.

...er, so, yeah. I'm twenty-four and have done precisely zero with my real life, so we'll pretend it doesn't happen (it doesn't, anyway). I live in England although I'm actually a New Zealander, and I've been into the show since I was seventeen...1999, I think? I fell in love with Mikage first and foremost, and ended up a Nemuro fangirl because I love characters who appear for all of ten minutes and turn out to be figments of everyone's imaginations anyway. I think I like to punish myself, or something. My favourite female character is Nanami, because we have several things in common. Which is mostly the ability to turn into a cow on command.

Seeing as I have been in the fandom a while, I might as well say you may have run across me somewhere before; I don't tend to say much, but I wrote a couple of essays and a few fic under the name of Celeste Goodchild. I don't do so much with the fic any more, although I still have oodles of analysis I would like to write at some stage. Unfortunately all my tapes are IN NEW ZEALAND so I am limited to my memory. Which is shifty at the best of times. I look forward to working with you.

It takes forty-seven New Zealanders eight months to make just one batch of 42 Below Vodka. ...luckily, that leaves one of us free to be Prime Minister.

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

First of all, I must say I love the smilie. The only other place I've ever seen it was at the Something Awful forums and I'm a poor high school student without a job, so no SA forums for me!

Anypants! I'm Emma, 17 (18 on December 13), and I live in Atlanta, which is both the "capital" of the South and one of the most dangerous cities in the US! (The very least dangerous is Honolulu, just FYI.) The part where I live, Decatur (which is just to the east of Atlanta proper), is a pretty cool place, though. It's very eclectic, artistic, gay-friendly (when you venture outside Atlanta, though, that changes), and has Agnes Scott College (big women's college...they want me, but they don't have journalism or communications majors). I'm very proud of Atlanta because I've lived here all my life, but I have my eye on the Bay Area in the future. I visited San Francisco over the summer and l-o-v-e-d it.

I'm currently a senior in high school (class of OH-SEVEN) and the co-editor in chief of my school's paper. In my spare time, I am a geek. I eschew parties and getting high/drunk/crunk for chilling out at Borders, seeing artsy movies, writing really long stories, surfing teh intarweb, listening to a broad range of music, or hanging out with other geeky folks. I'm a stickler for grammar, spelling, and mechanics, which makes me both a damn good editor and fine-tuned to find tiny mistakes other eyes might not catch. In other words, I'd make a good beta reader, if anyone's in the market. E-mail or PM me and we can work something out.

I think my absolute favorite Utena character is Utena in all her incarnations, though I do like Wakaba as well. I know how it is to feel like you're the only non-special person in your group (I seem to remember Wakaba taking Utena to task on that one in episode 20), plus she's just so effervescent that you can't help but like her.

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

Heya. I'm Val. I like Utena, anime in general, Astrology (I considered becoming an astrologer ;;;), RPing, and Pirates. I live with my parents (regrettably) and am a university dropout. Going to college part-time in the winter for dressmaking if all goes according to plan, and looking for a job in the meantime.

Regarding Utena: I the movie. Like crazy. ((...I watched it every day for a year after getting it. I was in highschool, I had nothing better to do. Though admittedly it became background sound after a few months.)) I also am a big fan of Mikage, Anthy (I think movie Anthy is cute, okay ;;; ) and Dios and have a strong dislike (though perhaps a grudging admiration? I'm still not sure on that one) regarding Akio.

I've been out of the Utena (and general anime) loop for a while. So. There. *shrug*

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

Hey there. Name's Brian. 22 year old from New York. I've been a fan of SKU since graduating highschool when a friend pretty much forced it on me. Since I enjoy sexual ambiguity and bizarre kinkiness far, far too much in my popular entertainment, SKU has become a personal favorite of mine. I also like to dig into and analyse gender roles, fairy-tale archetypes, tragic broken love, and things that are just generally effed-up. Luckily, SKU seems to have these in abundance . Basically, I like shows that "go deeper".

My fave character is most likely Juri or Shiori. Juri, for reasons that I have much too much difficulty articulating. Mostly for her strength, I suppose. And Shiori because it interests me how the show treats her. And I guess I have a thing for cold-hearted bitches or something. OH WELL.

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

Hello all! So glad to see a forum here!

Anyway, I would try to come up with a witty, comical introduction, but classes today have eaten my brain, so I'll just give the basics. I'm Shannon, 19, yet another poor college student. I'm from a "suburb" (really more of an urban cesspool) just outside of Boston, Massachusetts. I'm currently a sophomore at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire. As an English major, my plan for life is world domination through my amazing works of fiction. My more realistic backup plan is to live off of change that friendly passerbyes give me for my sockpuppet shows on the street corner where I shall live. In addition to literature, I have quite the obsession with theater, and am currently rehearsing for a production of Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap". Expect to hear random references to musicals or Shakespeare from me.

Though I'm quite the fan of anime and manga in general, Utena has this special hold on me. I first heard of it at the age of thirteen from a website. All I had to read was the sentence, "SKU is about a girl named Utena who strives to become a prince" and I knew I'd found the show for me. I love the series, like the movie and really couldn't finish the manga after I read the spoilers online. I can't begin to describe how much I love this show: the characters, the symbolism, the music, the design, how much personal meaning it holds for me, etc. I could talk about any and all the characters really. I first sympathised with Utena (obviously) but now my chosen favorites are Anthy, Juri, Mikage, and Ruka. And let's not forget the good old Akio-lust. Mmmmm. I love the show both for how absurd it is and also how no matter how often I watch it, I find something new to ponder every time.

I've lurked around Empty Movement for years, so I am so happy there is a forum here now! This will help me convert more people to Utena, as I already got six of my friends hooked on it. As for my personality, one of these friends once told me, "You're like Utena, but not dumb. Or maybe you're more like Juri, but without the lesbianism." Make of that what you will

Last edited by azuresquirrel (10-16-2006 05:03:46 PM)

Me on gender identity: "I have more gender issues than an anime character."

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

//being careful not to step on the roses\\

My name's Brian! I'm a 22-year-old from Florida and one heck of a SKU fan. I just graduated from the University of Chicago, where the anime club made fun of me for my love of Utena. I like the movie and am okay with the manga, but the series is my greatest love for its drama, symbolism, and nuanced exploration of cause and effect in human relationships -- among other things. Everything about it is just so... oh, I adore it.

Other favorites of mine include Kino no Tabi, Boogiepop Phantom, and Paranoia Agent. (I'm a noir kind of guy. Utena is noir yet shoujo, which is neat.) I'm not much on Sailor Moon (though I love laughing at the live action version); Rose of Versailles, Chiho Saito's previous work and a major source of symbolism for Utena, is pretty good.

What are these weird sherlock and chef buttons with all the colons? I will have to find out.

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

Greetings, Utena fans!

My name is Alyson and I hail from the Rocky Mountain State. I'm getting up there in the years and finding I don't identify with the younger anime fans much anymore. Except for a few newer series, I'm a fan of a lot of the older anime as well as quite the fan of Utena. I occassionally write a little fanfiction (as well as a little smut here and there), and I create icons as well as play a few Utena LiveJournal rpgs.

As for real life - I manange a restaurant and will be heading to massage therapy school next year.

I feel like pimping my DA site, so if anyone wants to peruse my icons (the good and bad) as well as any of my writings, feel free to take a look at www.ninjasin.deviantart.com

Later.

Life is short: break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

..ooh, shiny. *admires forum*

Uhm, I'm Bonnie, and I'm very much a newbie Utena fan and I wish I got into it earlier. But better late than never, I guess? (And I doubt I would have understood it earlier. I probably would have been scared off by all the sex back then. ;3 ) It's definitely one of my all-time favourite animes ever, and I love finding new things every time I watch it again. The series is my favourite, and my favourite characters are probably Anthy and Utena. (Original, I know.) But I tend to either love every character or love to hate them.

As for me, I'm a meek little psychology major who is obsessed with faeries, rain, and sweets, and has a bad sense of words so I'll probably mostly be lurking. I'm very excited about this forum. :3 WUBBLES.

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

Hello I am Alithea. I write fan fiction. I love the angst. Utena is probably the one series I'm still slightly obessed with, which just proves how good it is. My favorite characters are Kozue, Juri, and Shiori. I'm twenty-eight and live in California. I'm not sure what else to say, so I think I'll end it there.

"The only reason to write is to write for love. Write for passion. If you have the privilege of being able to write, then don't do it for any other reason." - Stephen Sondheim

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

AHAHA YUSS! Forum time! :3

I'm Dematrah. I am an artist and Utena-obsessive, and 21-year-old full time desk job worker. SUCH a relief it is to finally join a forum such as this, that I certainly plan to celebrate by watching the series all over again. I honestly believe this forum will work out for me where most have not.

I hope to gain more knowledge of Utena in all its glory by conversing with the rest of you, as well as learn of the more subtle symbolism I know I've missed and to discuss whatever ideas the rest of us may share.

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

Pretty much all you need to know is that I am smarter and prettier than you.

I am a big Saionji fan, and a fantastic cook. If it should ever happen to matter I am 29, and also representing Canada.

I CHALLENGE GIOVANNA TO THE "Iron Chef of the FORUMS" CONTEST. SHE WILL FALL.

Two of the above three statements are true, the remaining statement is variable true or not, depending on how much time I have to wipe the clown make-up off from campaigning for office, and whether I have been drinking.

It is up to the rest of you to determine which statement is which.

Pay attention, there will be a test on this.

edit:spelling

Last edited by _ J _ (10-16-2006 08:54:44 PM)

I will always be here to listen, the question is, whether or not you can hear...

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

My god, so many people!! It's only been like ten hours! I'm touched. So, so touched. You're all welcome here.

_ J _ wrote:

I CHALLENGE GIOVANNA TO THE "Iron Chef of the FORUMS" CONSTEST. SHE WILL FALL.

With the lone exception of this one.

ACCEPTED. You sir, shall eat these words along with my superior culinary masterpieces! A low level politician, a food critic, and an actress will STRIKE YOU DOWN and declare ME Iron Chef SUPREME.

It. Is. ON.

Akio, you have nice turns of phrase, but your points aren't clear and you have no textual support. I can't give this a passing grade. ~ Professor Arisa Konno, Eng 1001 (Freshman Literature and Composition)

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

Soup Goblin wrote:

Hey there. Name's Brian. 22 year old from New York. I've been a fan of SKU since graduating highschool when a friend pretty much forced it on me. Since I enjoy sexual ambiguity and bizarre kinkiness far, far too much in my popular entertainment, SKU has become a personal favorite of mine. I also like to dig into and analyse gender roles, fairy-tale archetypes, tragic broken love, and things that are just generally effed-up. Luckily, SKU seems to have these in abundance . Basically, I like shows that "go deeper".

My fave character is most likely Juri or Shiori. Juri, for reasons that I have much too much difficulty articulating. Mostly for her strength, I suppose. And Shiori because it interests me how the show treats her. And I guess I have a thing for cold-hearted bitches or something. OH WELL.

You sound like my kind of guy. I have done almost everything sexually you can think of ( i know utena is perfect for me) and i have no boundaries.

Re: [Welcome] Introduce yourself here!!

ZSPACE wrote:

Soup Goblin wrote:

Hey there. Name's Brian. 22 year old from New York. I've been a fan of SKU since graduating highschool when a friend pretty much forced it on me. Since I enjoy sexual ambiguity and bizarre kinkiness far, far too much in my popular entertainment, SKU has become a personal favorite of mine. I also like to dig into and analyse gender roles, fairy-tale archetypes, tragic broken love, and things that are just generally effed-up. Luckily, SKU seems to have these in abundance . Basically, I like shows that "go deeper".

My fave character is most likely Juri or Shiori. Juri, for reasons that I have much too much difficulty articulating. Mostly for her strength, I suppose. And Shiori because it interests me how the show treats her. And I guess I have a thing for cold-hearted bitches or something. OH WELL.

You sound like my kind of guy. I have done almost everything sexually you can think of ( i know utena is perfect for me) and i have no boundaries.

AHAHAHAHAHAH that's awesome

Not even a day and someone's getting propositioned!

Keep it to pm or IFD unless it's clearly a joke, okay? I can't tell if you're serious or not.

Edit: Also, I don't want to see too much of this going on if it is serious, a forum isn't the place for it.